Uchiha no Tsuma
by MissKirei
Summary: [Interrelated one-shot series] Eleven & Twelve: Sasuke dragged his palm down his face irritably as Sakura shifted again, she nuzzled his neck and Sasuke could only glare daggers at the ceiling as his Sharingan got activated.
1. Chapter 1

|~| **Uchiha no Tsuma** |~|

Miss_Kirei_Uchiha

||One

The purple seal embedded in Sakura Haruno's forehead is what catches the interest of Sasuke Uchiha one day. He had been peacefully brooding, keeping majorly to himself as he walked past another paper town on his journey. He wondered how long she had to work on her chakra balance and fill her chakra reserves to obtain the seal. It must have been hard. He had read, in some scroll, that such precise chakra control took decades to master. Even with Sakura's excellent inborn chakra control, it must have taken her a long time. A faint smile and a feeling of adoration briefly crossed him. Sakura had come so far.

He was proud of her.

He continued his journey in absolute silence, thinking about the small letter that was neatly folded in an envelope, sitting in the breast pocket of his shirt. He decided that he would find a way to touch the purple seal on her forehead when he meets her.

Two and a half months later, Sakura blushed red when out of the blue Sasuke kissed her forehead.


	2. Chapter 2

||Two

Sakura was especially tired today.

A twenty three hour long shift had been no joke, even for her. Carrying out three critical operations on severely injured ANBU had taken a toll on her. She dragged her feet as fast as she could so that she could reach the comforts of her apartment and collapse into nothingness, only to wake up tomorrow, preferably somewhere in the middle of the afternoon. So when Sakura saw her apartment door steps ahead, a faint smile crossed her tired features, she was thinking of taking a warm shower—some wine would be really nice too.

But all that faded away as soon as she unlocked the doors and lied down on her carpet. The floor wasn't bare so it wasn't uncomfortable, besides, she couldn't care less. She had slept on the floor countless number of times while being away on missions—Sakura closed her eyes and sighed as her body relaxed.

She saw Sasuke in her dream.

She remembered his mismatched eyes. He had graced her with a smile and a nod as she was probably talked about something. They sat in a grass field, and there were fireflies around—

She was surprised and disoriented when she found herself alone, facing the ceiling of her living room. Sakura sat up with a sad smile on her face, perhaps it was all just wishful thinking.

Perhaps there would never be a day when she wouldn't wake up cold and lonely.


	3. Chapter 3

||Three

Naruto was probably the first one to notice that the Sakura they all knew and loved was fading. She didn't go out with friends anymore and there were rare occasions when he found her somewhere other than the children hospital which Sakura had opened under the guidance of Tsunade baa-chan. Naruto wasn't objected to the fact that she was working hard and doing something good for all the children of Konoha, he was just sad because he saw that underneath all the good deeds and working hard in her profession, Sakura was still not completely happy. She might throw around a few smiles here and there every day, but Naruto knew better.

It was just a façade.

An excuse for keeping herself busy.

And the knowledge of this truth broke his heart.

Regardless, he knew that he could do nothing but watch from afar as Sakura hid her feelings from the world. He knew for a fact that she was strong, and independent, but he also knew how she was slowly killing herself as she waited for Sasuke to come back.

Sakura was surprised when Naruto had shown up in her clinic and demanded—stubbornly—that she went out to Ichiraku's with him.

Naruto didn't take no for an answer, so Sakura agreed, feeling like she needed a small break herself.

Sakura talked with Naruto as they enjoyed the ramen and told him all about the clinic's success. Naruto listened happily with enthusiasm as he ordered his fifth bowl of ramen.

He wanted to tell her to move on at some point of their conversation. No matter how close he had been to Sasuke and understood him in a way that nobody else could, he still felt like telling Sakura that she should stop waiting for Sasuke altogether.

He hadn't meant to think this way, but it had been so long…it had been _ten years._ How far would Sakura have to wait? He just thought that it wasn't fair for her. Why was she always subjected to hurt and heartbreak? It just didn't seem fair anymore…

Sakura probably noticed the slumping of Naruto's shoulders as he grew silent, his face sad as he got lost in his own thoughts. Sakura smiled sadly as she ruffled his hair, causing him to look up.

"Don't you worry about me, Naruto." She had told him reassuringly as she squeezed his hand gently and gave him a big smile. "My love is not so weak that it would just fade away with the wind." Sakura said as she got up to leave. Naruto stood there—dumbfounded as he thought about the right words to say.

The greatest loudmouth in Konoha, the hero who had stolen hearts of many with his mere usage of words, the talkative hero—was speechless. He smiled to himself, Sasuke was a lucky teme, but he better not push his luck or else he would break his face.

He could not wait for his friend to be back.


	4. Chapter 4

||Four

Sakura sat under the Hokage Mountain, on top of Kakashi's head as she hummed a tune and looked at the entire village. Wind blew softly, taking fresh green leaves along as she swung her legs with the wind. She thought about Sasuke-kun, and wondered where he must be right now, but she stopped humming the moment a very familiar chakra heading towards her caught her attention.

The love of her life was back, she retorted, thinking this was just another one of her day dreams. She didn't want to get her hopes up only to have them crushed into the ground, so she didn't bother much about it and continued with her humming.

But she stopped when she found him standing right next to her, a moment later. She stood up—not quite believing her eyes as the man in front of her merely flashed her a smile—a small curl of lips.

The words were stuck inside her throat, as she stuttered and rubbed her neck awkwardly, she did not know how to react, or what to say. She had longed and played this moment in her mind on repeat for almost four years now, but not that it was actually happening before her eyes, Sakura was frozen.

With a smile that he only reserved for Sakura,

Sasuke finally said, "I'm home, Sakura."


	5. Chapter 5

||Five: Sakura's Birthday Part I

It was Sakura's birthday when she realized that maybe, just maybe, Sasuke was ready to return her feelings.

It was her first day off after three months that Sakura had gotten from Tsunade-shishou. Sakura had decided to spend the entire day resting and replenishing her chakra after long exhausting hours of work, but all that had gone down the drain the moment her doorbell rang.

At first, Sakura didn't want to get up, but when she heard the doorbell ring again, after a span of exact five minutes, she decided to get up.

It was probably Naruto, with a large bouquet of flowers that he collected for her birthday like every year. Sakura sighed, the gesture was quite appreciated but she didn't understand why he had to show up so early at her doorstep.

Sakura pushed her hair back as she yawned, still clad in the pink bunny sweatshirt that Ino-pig had gifted her, she grumbled as she opened the door.

"Naruto, couldn't you wait to barge inside my house at least till the sun was fully up?" Sakura said as she stifled a yawn as she opened the door.

She was unable to close her mouth as she saw the face of her guest. A huge blush covered her face as her grip on the door tightened.

Sasuke looked back, hesitantly as he saw her state. He felt like he has intruded on her sleeping, he should just come back later, he decided.

"S-Sasuke-kun!" Sakura said with a high pitched voice and an awkward laugh, as she thought about what she was wearing. "Good Morning!" She chirped awkwardly.

Sasuke merely blinked back, not knowing how to respond, he did not want her to feel uncomfortable at all.

"I will visit later." Sasuke had managed to say, was that the right choice of words? Sakura seemed to get quiet all of a sudden. Had he said something wrong?

"W-What happened, Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked. Her voice sounded sad to Sasuke, and then she fell quiet.

Sasuke sighed, and he tried again, "I apologise for my rudeness, I shouldn't have come by so early in the morning."

Sakura took a moment to finally let the words sink in, and when she did, she just laughed, Sasuke sighed, so she wasn't sad anymore.

"Nonsense, come inside."

"I don't want to intrude."

"Don't worry about it." Sakura said as she went inside the wide opened door and waited for Sasuke, but he did not move. Sakura merely rolled her eyes as she went out again, only to hold Sasuke's lone hand and lead him inside.

After what felt like moments of hesitation, Sasuke finally let Sakura lead the way. He found himself sitting on her couch moments later as Sakura prepared tea. He looked around her apartment, since this was the first time he had come inside. The house did not particularly scream feminine—which was understandable as this was still a shinobi's house, but it still screamed Sakura.

Every inch of it.

Sasuke's mood lightened up as he soaked in the ambience of Sakura and her house.

"So what brings you here, Sasuke-kun?" Sakura said as she put two cups of tea on the table and sat down as well.

Sasuke looked at her contemplatively, "Ah." He acknowledged her question as Sakura blew on her tea—still clad in the pastel pink sweatshirt with the bunny ears.

Sakura looked at Sasuke and his overgrown hair that still managed to make him look so good. How could someone, who didn't even spend a good second in front of the mirror, look so handsome? Sakura blew on her tea again, ignoring heart, which skipped another beat.

"It's your birthday." Sasuke finally said, as he looked at her with a sincere look on his face, Sakura almost dropped her teacup as she looked at him with a mixture of shock and surprise written on her face.

 _H-he…he remembers my…_

 _My birthday._

Sakura's heart beat wildly in her chest as she looked at Sasuke, her blush growing darker and darker.

The way Sasuke's lips curled upwards upon seeing her reaction sent Sakura's mind and heart in a frenzy, was this a dream? He finally spoke again, the curl of his lips finally stretching into a smile,

"I wanted to…spend this day with you."

And Sakura thought she nearly fainted that moment, but the sound of her teacup falling on the floor is what snapped her out of her reverie. Sasuke looked at her disapprovingly as Sakura sheepishly fetched a kitchen towel to clean.

Sasuke did not know how to decipher her reaction. She had been taken aback for sure, but was she happy? Or was she angry? He did not know. He decided to observe her further and then deduce from her behaviour.

When Sakura bent down to clean the tea, Sasuke noticed the bunny ears that had been attached to the shirt she had been wearing. Sasuke's interest perked up and he failed at controlling his urge.

He put the cap on her head with a smirk on his face as Sakura looked up, not even aware of what he did. He smirked as one of the bunny ears came down on her head.

"It suits you." He remarked as he stood up and watched Sakura turn into a red tomato.

Sakura tried to breathe normally as she saw Sasuke smile. She did not know how to react, so she merely fell back on her ass as she placed her hand on her head where Sasuke had touched her. He merely smirked as Sakura stuttered her way out of the awkward situation,

"I-I'll just…I need to…yeah." Sakura got up as she scurried off to the comforts of her kitchen where she pretended to wash the teacups and mumble incoherently.

Sasuke watched the scene unfold before his eyes, he didn't miss how she secretly smiled to herself as she washed the cup.

Sakura decided that moment, that she would wear the sweatshirt more often.


	6. Chapter 6

||Six: Sakura's Birthday Part II

Sakura considered it to be their first date.

Even if it lasted two and a half minutes.

After breakfast, Sasuke had left Sakura to her own devices, telling her that he had to report to the Hokage. A fond smile covered her lips as she held her wrist over her heart as she remembered the smile Sasuke graced her with when he turned to the side and told her that he would wait for her in the evening.

He hadn't told her where though, but Sakura didn't mind, because he hadn't concealed his chakra, so she could easily find him. Sakura smiled to herself as she thought about what all that could possible happen this evening. Of course, she had created many unrealistic scenarios in her mind which eventually lead up to her having expectations, but she knew nothing of the sort was going to happen.

Expectations, she had realised over the course of time, was not something she should keep from Sasuke.

Now don't misinterpret, her heart still belonged to him, but there were still some things that always proved to be fruitless, for he would either completely crush her expectations or just completely exceed them. There was no in between (Sakura realized the last part on her wedding night, but let's keep that story for another day).

So, when Sakura got pulled into an emergency surgery (courtesy of Tsunade shishou passing out after getting drunk early in the morning), Sakura was disappointed. But, it was not like she could just abandon her work and let a shinobi die (not on her watch, nope!), so she just focussed all her chakra and got to work.

It was already 11:30pm when Sakura got a chance to get out of the double doors. She had dashed out of the hospital before any nurse could ask how the surgery went. They had even planned to surprise her, but it all went in vain when she used extra chakra and disappeared in a flash.

Sakura sighed as she headed towards the chakra spike that she had sensed since evening, it was Saskue-kun, who had not even moved an inch since evening when he had promised to meet her. Her eyes watered when she realized that he had been patiently waiting for her at the same spot, but she didn't wipe them, she just let the wind dry them away as she ran at her full speed, not even realising where she was headed until she spotted a lake.

She sighed, realising she probably looked like shit after pulling off a ten hour shift covered in bloodied scrubs all day long. She hadn't gotten a chance to look presentable and stuff, but she had put on civilian clothes as fast as she could.

Sakura quietly walked over the grassy slope, stepping over the wooden floor that formed the bank of the infamous Uchiha Lake, which was once used for training. Sasuke sat there with one leg straight and one bent, his lone arm was placed over his bent leg as he stared off into nothingness.

"You're here." Sasuke said, having sensed her miles before she even stepped foot inside the Uchiha compound. He didn't know why he had come here today, the place was a ghostly reminder of all the blood that was shed here, even though it was a place that once held cherished memories from his early childhood.

Didn't exactly scream romantic, did it?

Sasuke sighed as he battled an inner battle, he felt comforted now that Sakura sat down next to him and dipped her feet into the water, to him, the water from the lake just looked like a blood bath before.

Sasuke wanted to tell her not to soak in the Uchiha blood.

But her smile washed away all these gruesome feelings from his mind and heart.

"I'm sorry, I ruined everything." Sakura said apologetically as she stared at the other side of the lake.

Sasuke merely nodded his head disapprovingly, "You have responsibilities."

Sakura smiled, "Right." She spoke, mostly to herself. She wondered if Sasuke was in a bad mood, given he was here for many hours, probably brooding into nothingness as he did now.

She didn't know how to start a conversation.

"I guess my birthday is over now," she said thoughtfully, even if no celebrations took place today, Sakura did not mind, she had saved a life today—which was more than enough happiness for her.

Sasuke looked up at the moon, "Not yet." He said and Sakura could swear she had seen him smile.

"So, where is my gift, Sasuke-kun?" Sakura teased and Sasuke smiled, "Aa."

Sakura looked at him as he curled his lips—almost smiling, as if he was enjoying something that she didn't know about.

"I'm afraid I have nothing materialistic to offer you, Sakura." Sasuke spoke, "I figured there was nothing that I could give you, which you couldn't have yourself."

Sakura's heart clenched at his words, she did not understand the context in which Sasuke spoke, but the inner loveless girl inside her only spoke with a broken voice,

He was the only thing she could never have.

But he didn't realize that.

"Eh?" Sakura fake laughed and chirped as she continued to urge him to complete what he was speaking.

"I can only show you," Sasuke said as he placed his palm on her cheek as he looked into her eye. Sakura's face rivalled her name as she heated up at the gesture, Sasuke's eye turned red as the sharingan came to life, "The things that I wanted you to see, during my travels."

Sakura was pulled away from her gloomy world as Sasuke showed her some of the most beautiful things she had ever seen. He showed her different towns, vast grasslands, beautiful lakes and waterfalls, rivers and bridges from all over the world. He showed her the most beautiful sights he had ever encountered on his path to redemption, the last one was the most mesmerizing for Sakura.

It was somewhere from the grassland village where the entire sky was lighted up by the starry night as dozens of fireflies covered the surface, the sight almost made her heart skip a beat. How must it have felt to be there with him during such moments? Now she could imagine.

When Sasuke pulled her out of the genjutsu, his eye turned back to normal as he smiled as his fingers tapped Sakura's purple seal, "At times, I felt like sharing these moments with someone, so I saved them."

Sakura's face turned red after that remark.

"Happy Birthday, Sakura" Sasuke merely said as he lighted up several small flames of fire around her with a flick of his fingers, they almost looked like the fireflies from the last scene that he had shown her.

Sakura's eyes watered again as she looked at the beautiful man who held her heart, she almost wanted to bury her face into his chest and cry her eyes out now. He had matured so much over a span of four years, it was almost astonishing.

Sakura told him the next time he visited such beautiful places, she wanted to be beside him.

Sasuke merely nodded as all the small flames disappeared inside the lake water. He finally gathered the courage to put his arm around her that night.

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	7. Chapter 7

||Seven

They were within walking range of Konoha gates when it happened.

Sakura was going back to the village after a mission in Sunagakure. Chakra depleted, and almost moments away from fainting—Sakura could only hope to make it in time before she got unconscious. The pouch in which she kept the chakra pills was empty, and her only hope was to at least make it to the village gates so that someone would carry her to the hospital.

There had been no ambushes or rouge nin on her way back, but there was nature, ready to fuck things up for her. A sandstorm which lasted two days and three nights threw her off balance. With limited food rations and no sign of human life, Sakura was lucky she could come this far.

She sat down leaning against the trunk of an old tree at some point of her journey—she just couldn't go any further. She closed her eyes as sweat beads trickled down her back—she had always hated when that happened. She would rather choose to fight a tough opponent instead.

But something caught her senses.

Maybe it was the rustling of the leaves or sudden change in the wind that was surely caused by an external agent. Or maybe it was just the small spike of Sasuke's chakra that alerted her or the way how his chakra was close to extinguishing that made her skin prickle. Sakura stood up.

Why was Sasuke so nearby? She thought as she started looking for him. Why was his chakra so low?

Sakura's heart sunk at the possibilities.

Moments later, she found him on top of an ancient tree branch, hiding underneath the leaves. He looked pathetic with his form writhing, panting and aching. His body bled from multiple places, and his Sharingan was activated. Multiple bone fractures, internal bleeding, broken ribs, the list was endless.

What had he gotten himself into?

Tears brimmed in her eyes as fear engulfed her. Sakura had to force chakra into her brain to stop herself from shaking. Her body did not cooperate at all, not when she had spent the last week under extreme conditions.

Sakura could not think.

She looked at Sasuke, who had noticed her presence now. His lips moved to utter something, but she couldn't decipher what he meant. The irony of the situation was not lost on her—she was only a few miles away from the village yet she could not do anything. Hell, she didn't even have the chakra to summon Katsuyu, her slug, let alone heal herself and Sasuke-Kun, who looked like he was about to…

No!

Her mind screamed.

Sasuke was not going to die. Neither was she. She wouldn't let it all go to waste.

She wouldn't.

She saw Sasuke smile apologetically, as his lone hand came up and tapped her forehead, Sakura looked at him with wide eyes as he muttered something unintelligible…

"Sasuke!" She yelled as she held out his hand, "You're not dying on me…I won't let you do this to me!"

Sakura moved her arm forward to create some signs and released her seal. This was her only option, even if it came with a price to pay. Black stripes covered her arms and neck, and her seal came to life. She could feel chakra surging through her veins now.

Sakura smiled as a tear slid down her cheek.

"Just hang in there, Sasuke-Kun." She told him as a green aura covered her hands.

When Sasuke woke up three days later, he wasn't lying broken on a tree branch anymore. Naruto was sitting on the stool next to him with a serious expression on his face.

Was it wrong of him to expect Sakura to be sitting there instead?

Naruto touched his hand gently as he ran a hand through his hair, Sasuke noted how the dobe hadn't gotten any sleep. He was probably here with him all this time…

"You're okay now." Naruto assured him, "what happened though?"

"Hn." Sasuke said, "Dobe, you look like shit." He smirked as Naruto's face turned from melancholic to annoyed.

"S-SASUKE! You bastard! Don't talk like you look any better than me!" Naruto protested with an obnoxiously loud voice as he pointed an accusing finger at him. Sasuke merely "tsk"—ed as he looked out of the window.

"Hey, you two! Stop shouting! My hospital is not a flea market!" Tsunade yelled as she slammed her fist into Naruto's head.

"Tsunade Ba-chan, what are you doing here?!" Naruto exclaimed as he rubbed his aching head.

"This is my hospital! There are other patients around, keep your voice down!" The legendary sannin said as she cracked her knuckles.

"H-Hai! G-Gomen!" Naruto said, "Well I just remembered something. Hinata is waiting for me, fix yourself, Teme!" as he scurried out of the window.

"Use the doors like a normal person!" She yelled again as she exited Sasuke's room, who sighed.

When the sixth personally came to Sasuke's room to check up on him, he couldn't help but snort.

"Don't you have anything better to do?" He said, his voice as angry as ever. Kakashi sighed, "Is this a way to treat your sensei?"

"You might be right about Kaguya's clan," Sasuke said, in all seriousness. Kakashi's eyes widened. Shikamaru stood by the door as he listened to all the mission-related details that Sasuke supplied the two with.

"That's when I got the chance to get out of that dimension, but I got severely injured while escaping." Sasuke finished as he pushed his hair back, "My rinnegan is not going to activate until it gets fully restored again."

"You were lucky that Sakura just happened to pass by at the exact moment when you teleported back," Kakashi said thoughtfully.

Sasuke didn't say anything.

"It seems like she was completely out of chakra when she was coming back from her mission in Suna. The sandstorms had taken a toll on her and I don't know how she managed to save you." Kakashi said with a hint of pride in his voice. His student had come so far, how could he not feel proud of her?

Shikamaru walked towards Kakashi as he handed him a scroll, "Sakura used her byakugou no in seal and used the rebirth jutsu. It wasn't sheer luck that you're alive, Sasuke." He said, merely stating the facts, "Well, I better leave. Women are troublesome. Mine will have my head on a silver platter if I don't reach home within the next fifteen minutes. Take care." He said as he bowed to the sixth and took his leave.

Sasuke stared at the ceiling of the hospital room as he felt guilt surface. Sakura had risked her life for him yet another time. And him? Well, he had always tried to take her life instead.

How could he ever thank her enough?

How could he stand next to her, and look at her in the eye, knowing that he had been the reason she almost lost her life…

Again?

As he began mulling over his fucked-up-ness, Kakashi's words started to become vague. He couldn't concentrate or even bother to make out from lip reading what his former sensei spoke.

At last, Kakashi sighed as he walked out. He knew waiting for Sasuke to speak up wouldn't help.

"Well, now that I'm here. I guess I should check up on Sakura too. Heard she exhausted herself so much that she hasn't yet recovered." Kakashi said out loud on purpose, his lone eye noticed how Sasuke's ears perked up at that.

He deserved to feel that guilt, Kakashi thought.

But one thing that nobody told Sasuke was the fact that Sakura was actually in a coma, and the rebirth jutsu that she used cost her at least five years from her own lifespan.

When Sakura finally recovered after a week, Sasuke was already gone. She wanted to protest and complain—that he wasn't healthy enough to travel, or that he needed more time to recover, or that he should rest.

But she couldn't scream that to the empty rooms, could she? He left her, again, but this time he left her a small piece of paper that she would cherish for years to come.

 _"_ _Sakura,_

 _Arigatou._

 _Gomen."_

 _Miss Kirei: "The reviews are so refreshing and encouraging to read. Thank you for the love."_


	8. Chapter 8

||Eight: Usuratonkachi

It wasn't until eight months later when Sasuke returned back to the village after completing another top secret S-class mission that nobody seemed to know about, except for the sixth. His hair had grown out, and settled down—compared to the grumpy kid with the chicken-butt hair, Sasuke looked mature.

Naruto blinked as he saw a familiar cape walking towards him, who was currently sitting in Ichiraku's, inhaling ramen. "O-Oi! It's Sasuke 'ttebayo!" he screamed as he ran out, completely ignoring what Sai said.

"Damn, teme…" Naruto spoke thoughtfully, "You look different. Something's definitely off…" He took wary steps towards Sasuke, "But I can't put a finger on it!" He screeched.

Sasuke merely glared at the dobe, not even considering gracing him with a word.

"Maaannn… how do I know it's the real Sasuke?!" Naruto said as he lifted his cape up and looked, "One arm, check!"

"Naruto," Sasuke said irritably, as he shot him another displeased look. He tried hard to keep his fist to himself as Naruto held him by the neck and began sniffing him.

"Maybe you should kiss him to see if it feels the same as the last time." Sai remarked as he stood feet away, "I see you've returned, Traitor-kun."

"Aha!" Naruto said to Sai but merely blushed red at his remark. "S-Shut it, Sai! I would never kiss Sasuke-teme again 'ttebayo!"

Sasuke shuddered as he tried to remove Naruto from his body, failing to do so. "Dobe, if you don't get off me…" Sasuke warned, but couldn't finish, because Sai interrupted him, again.

"Speaking of first kisses, who was ugly's first kiss?" Sai said. The atmosphere seemed to have gotten thicker and cold wind blew.

Sasuke looked at Sai, who was ugly?

"Ne, Sai… I don't think you should call Sakura-Chan ugly if you fear your life." Naruto shuddered, as he let Sasuke go and ran a hand through his hair. "Man, I don't know whether this is Sasuke or not, but if it is, teme, I gotta say you've changed!"

"Sakura's first kiss eh?" Ino remarked as she popped out of nowhere and leaned against Sai. "You guys didn't know?" She said as she blinked innocently. Sasuke did not react, so Ino thought that she needed to try harder.

Now Uzumaki Naruto wasn't a very sharp person, he might have been called thick skulled by some but when it came to Sasuke, he knew when to run off and save his ass.

So he did.

"Aaa! I just remembered! Hinata is waiting for me! Bye Teme!" He ran off as fast as he could and there was an awkward silence.

When Ino started chirping again, Sasuke's eyes narrowed.

"What happened to dickless?" Sai said as he looked in the direction where Naruto ran off to.

"He's smart." Ino said with a laugh, "Of course! He wouldn't want to be in an awkward situation because of something that happened in the past, now that he's dating Hinata."

Sasuke looked at Ino incredulously, the dobe was dating Hinata? How could her feelings have reached his thick-skulled brain?

Sasuke stilled, the sentence sounded too familiar to him.

Oh the irony!

He started walking with a sigh, the Yamanaka girl was doing this on purpose, just to stir him up. He didn't have time to play such childish games.

"Why would he be in any awkward situation?" said clueless Sai and Ino laughed, raising her voice just a little bit more, just so it could still reach Sasuke.

"Oh! Because Sakura's first kiss was with Naruto."

Ino's smile stretched to form an evil grin as she saw Sasuke still for a moment, only to completely disappear.

Her message had been loud and clear for him to hear.

Sai looked at Ino, "Wow, that's weird. I didn't know dickless had it in him."

"He took the bait!" Ino grinned, completely ignoring Sai as she walked in the direction of the flower shop. Sai merely followed.

"What bait? Did you lie about the kiss?"

"Not at all. It's the truth." Ino said.

The next time Sakura saw Sasuke, he was glaring at her.

Naruto had insisted that they meet up for ramen, and Sasuke had not so politely rejected. He didn't understand why the Uchiha was being so grumpy, so he tried to push him.

But Sasuke snapped.

And this is how Sakura found them—Sasuke held Naruto by the throat as he lifted his katana, and Naruto merely tried to get out of the situation without turning it into another war.

"O-Oi Teme! What's gotten into you?!" Naruto said as he tried to get away from his hold, but Sasuke merely glared hatefully at him. Hinata stood near the two, fidgeting—

"Sasuke-san! I-I'm s-sure that you both c-can talk it out!" Hinata urged, but Sasuke seemed to ignore her altogether.

"Call Sakura!" Naruto yelled as he joined both of his palms in a sort of plea. Hinata nodded as she disappeared.

But Sakura's name seemed to have enraged him further. Sasuke glared at Naruto as he contemplated what he should do with the dobe. A chidori to the ass? Amaterasu to his hair? Or should he bring out Sussan-o? Maybe he would not use any jutsu and finish the dobe with his own hands.

"Shannarooo!" Sakura said as she balled her fingers into a fist. "You guys! Back at it again!"

"I d-didn't do anything, S-Sakura-chan! Sasuke seems to be in a bad mood altogether!" Naruto pleaded. He didn't even know how he got stuck in this situation, and he didn't want to convert it into a fight.

He just wanted to get off Sasuke's nerves without destroying the village, ne?

But since Sakura was here, he doubted getting off the hook without some physical damage.

"Sasuke-Kun" Sakura said in a threatening tone, "You will put Naruto down, right now!"

"And what if I don't?" Sasuke said with a tch and a grin. "Annoying woman."

"W-Wrong move, bastard!" Naruto yelled as the kunoichi punched the land underneath her.

The entire ground collapsed.

Naruto was able to save his ass from the madness in the process, and the last thing he saw before he ran off was Sasuke dragging Sakura off to somewhere by holding her hand.

Naruto grinned.

"Seems like the bastard finally decided to grow a pair, eh?"

"Grow a what, Naruto-Kun?" Hinata said as she dusted his clothes with an innocent face.

"N-Nothing dattebayo!"

"How dare you call me annoying!? Sakura yelled the moment Sasuke let her hand go. They were in the middle of some forest, Sakura was angry and Sasuke was glaring.

But it seemed like Sakura had grown to become immune to the glares which made people weak in the knees.

"How dare you kiss Naruto?!" Sasuke demanded, slamming his fist into the tree trunk next to her face. He spoke without thought, and stopped speaking when he realised what he said.

"K-Kiss Naruto?" Sakura stuttered, taken aback by his words. She had been truly shocked by his statement.

"You heard me correctly the first time." He said irritably.

Sakura's face turned pink as she stared at him with wide eyes, "Who told you?"

"The Yamanaka girl." He said angrily, not liking this moment a single bit. She turned pink at the mention of the kiss damn it.

Damn it all.

This is why he didn't want to form bonds.

But he didn't realize he had formed one with Sakura until it was too late.

"That pig!" Sakura muttered under her breath, her heart fluttered at the thought of seeing Sasuke so pissed off because of the kiss.

"Care to explain?" Sasuke demanded stubbornly, as Sakura blushed, thinking about how much the kiss bothered Sasuke. He stared at her blushing. Was the kiss that good? The thought made his stomach churn.

"I thought you didn't like to bother yourself when it came to me." Sakura said seriously, with a teasing tone.

"Aa. That still stands." He said, "You and I are merely ex-team members."

It hurt when he said that, but Sakura merely smiled through the pain, "Then why does this kiss bother you so much?"

Sasuke didn't say anything, he just kept glaring.

"If you and I are just comrades, then why did you get so touchy?" Sakura said. Why Sasuke kept insisting that there was nothing in between them? Even after everything, why did he still deny everything?

She placed her hands on the back of the tree trunk on which she had been leaning, there were tears brimming in her eyes. "Naruto was not my first kiss."

Sasuke looked at her incredulously, but his anger seemed to dissipate at the statement.

"I had performed artificial respiration on him, during the war. I don't like to call that "a kiss"…" She got quite after that, as she stared at her sandals, "The truth is, I haven't had my first kiss…yet."

"Well, if I have nothing to do with you as you always proclaim, then that answer should suffice, Sasuke." She said, her voice moments ago from breaking, he had noticed how she spoke his name without any feelings, not even bothering to add the suffix that she always used.

Something twisted in Sasuke's heart as he watched her retreat.

He hadn't meant for all this to happen, it was very out of character for him.

But he couldn't help but snap at the thought of Naruto, the obnoxious dobe, and Sakura kissing. He was repulsed by it.

"Say, Sakura." He said with a softer voice, as he held her by the wrist and pulled her back to her spot, he pulled her hands above her head and a faint smile crossed his features, "You haven't had you first kiss, ne?" he said as he planted a small kiss on her lips.

It was soft and sweet, nothing like what she had imagined. Sakura could not believe that Sasuke could be so gentle when it came to matters which didn't require battles or ninja skills. He held her by the chin as he gave her another exclusively-reserved-for-Sakura smiles.

Sakura touched her lip using her finger, it was surreal. It made her weak in the knees. Sasuke merely tapped her forehead lovingly, snapping her out of her thoughts.

She couldn't sleep that night.

Miss Kirei: Kind of out of character but I liked it, not my best but it was nice to see Sasuke snap!


	9. Chapter 9

||Nine: Promise me

Note: This one-shot will not be related to the intertwined plotline for this series.

"Why did you call me here?" were the first words Sasuke Uchiha uttered as he stepped inside the Hokage's office. He looked around from the large floor to ceiling windows that overlooked Konoha.

"Did something happen in the village? What was so urgent?" he asked impatiently as he activated his rinnegan, scanning the entire area. He looked at Naruto questionably when he found nothing.

"Is Sakura out on a mission?" Sasuke asked. Naruto, who was too quiet for his reputation, sighed "No."

"That doesn't explain why I can't sense her chakra," Sasuke remarked as he removed his cape and set it down on a chair.

"Speak, loser."

Naruto looked away, then at Sasuke all at once, in all seriousness—he tried to hide the saddened expression on his face. "It's your wife."

"What about her?"

"She's dying."

Everything happened in a flash, Naruto opened his mouth to speak, or explain; but the moment he opened his eyes after mentally preparing himself, Sasuke had already jumped out of the window and left.

* * *

There was nobody inside their house.

Sasuke left the empty apartment after scanning the entire area thoroughly, his heart beat wildly in his chest. Dying? Surely, there must be a catch.

If this was a joke, Naruto was going to die.

But it wasn't, Sasuke realised when he found himself standing in Konoha hospital, only to be told that Sakura Haruno Sensei was not on duty since a week now.

He managed to find out where she was though, and he did not waste the fraction of a single second going there.

Sasuke found himself standing in front of what looked like an old shrine. It was a traditional house where usually the daimyo or elders lived.

Of course, he deduced.

Tsunade.

The fifth Hokage.

He found himself standing in front of a very pissed off Tsunade, moments later, ready to give him a piece of her mind. But, he ignored her completely as he moved inside, without wasting time in being polite or following etiquette.

Nobody could take his wife away from him anyway.

Inside a room covered with Shogi screens is where Sasuke found Sakura. She was unconscious, covered with a blanket. Shizune stood by the door as Sarada kneeled beside her mother.

Sasuke's presence was not ignored by his daughter.

He saw blood red eyes glaring at him when she turned around, balling her fingers into a fist. He noted the fact that Sarada's hair had gotten longer compared to the last time he'd seen her. He remained unfazed as his lone palm caught her fist before she could deliver a punch. Angry Sharingan eyes staring at him hatefully, he almost thought he was looking at his own thirteen-year-old self.

"What the fuck are you doing here?!" Sarada yelled as she aimed for a kick, which was blocked too, "I'm here to see my wife." He merely stated, trying to hide his shock over her usage of words.

She needed to stay away from Naruto.

"Well, your "wife" does not need you anymore." Sarada said as Shizune stepped in, "Sarada, your mother needs a peaceful environment, which is why we shifted her here. Don't talk to your father in such a manner!" Shizune chided her as Sarada looked away, Sharingan turning into obsidian. "I don't want to see your face, _papa!"_ she yelled, "So just leave us alone, like you always have, and go away!"

Sasuke, taken aback yet again, failed to hide his shock this time around. It seemed like she had grown up to become more like him in this aspect. Regardless, he did not have the time to pacify his child as his wife lay distressed in a bed for whatever reason. When Sarada did not stop, he was left was no option.

Sasuke's Sharingan rose to life as Sarada looked at him. He summoned Sussan-o to pick Sarada and take her home.

Kind of extreme, he agreed, but he needed to think.

Shizune stared at Sasuke speechlessly,

"S-Sasuke-san." She said, not knowing how to approach the strict man standing in front of her. Was he really as stone-hearted as everyone said?

"Shizune-san, can you tell me what is wrong with my wife?" Sasuke spoke softly as he stood in front of her, he might have been looking at her but his entire attention was towards Sakura's sleeping form.

Stone-hearted? No, Shizune decided, he was more of the logical kind. He did what needed to be done, even if he had to discard his personal feelings for a while.

"Hai, Sakura was on a mission to Sunagakure last week. She had to heal many people there because of a sandstorm and as a result, she used her byakugou-no-in seal…"

"Sakura has performed 100 healings numerous times before," Sasuke stated Shizune understood his underlying question, what happened this time?

"It seems like she went too far… The seal had a reverse effect on her own body. Her body cells are deteriorating as we speak. It seems as if her body is rejecting _life_."

Sasuke turned to sit down next to Sakura's bed. He stared at her without saying anything.

"Right, I will talk more about it later," Shizune said softly as she left, leaving the two alone.

Sasuke stared at her sleeping form contemplatively. He took her hand in his own, noticing how weak and lifeless it felt. Sasuke felt anger rise within for an unknown reason as he activated his ocular prowess and searched for any signs that would pinpoint the reason why the seal was having a reverse effect on Sakura's body.

He found nothing.

All his thoughts and reasoning left him the moment he deactivated his eye and ran his thumb over her fingers. Sasuke Uchiha, one of the strongest shinobi to ever walk on Earth, was reduced to a mere human being, whose heart seemed to bleed at the sight of his wife being in pain.

Her brows were furrowed and Sasuke couldn't help but tap the seal on her forehead, almost smiling pathetically to himself.

There was nobody on the receiving end of his affection tonight, it seemed.

He kept staring at her, forgetting that he had a daughter who seemed to hate him, or that his wife's body wasn't cooperating with her, or that he still would have to go back on the damn mission because—

"A-Anata?" Came a broken voice and Sasuke lifted his face in a flash, his Sharingan seemed to have gotten activated when he looked at her, but he couldn't care.

She was alive,

And she was smiling.

Although Sakura did not look as energetic as she did always, she still gave him a broken smile as she intertwined her fingers with his own, Sasuke's heart ached at the gesture.

"Gomen, I'm not in the best shape to welcome you back home." She said, her voice raspy and hoarse. She must have been out for a long time.

"Sakura." He muttered her name, feeling relief surge through his veins. "What happened?"

Sakura smiled brighter, "I-I don't know, Anata. I'm sorry, it seems like you'll have to take care of Sarada alone…"

"Shut up, Sakura." His response was automatic, he was repulsed by the thought of an empty home.

After all, she was the home he would always return to.

Nothing more, nothing less.

"I couldn't even imagine waking up to seeing your face, I feel so happy." She said as tears brimmed in her eyes.

"Tch." Sasuke felt annoyed by the choice of her thoughts. "We still have a long way to go."

But she didn't seem to be listening to him.

"—I think I'd rather be like this if it would mean that you would be sitting next to me when I wake up."

"Sakura." He felt the need to raise his voice, as he gently held her, pulling her head into his lap as he cradled her. This was a sight nobody had seen.

"I feel myself fading..," She said breathlessly, "If I don't wake up again, Sasuke-Kun. Promise me that you would take good care of Sarada and yourself."

"Sakura stop spouting nonsense—"

"Promise me, Anata…That you would, one day, return to your own daughter."

"Saku—"

"I love you, Sasuke-Kun…" She said as she buried her face in his lap, Sasuke's throat tightened as she closed her eyes. Sleep engulfed her and Sasuke could only stare as she lifted her palm that glowed green as she touched his cheek, only to wipe out a lone tear, and weakly slide down his face.

* * *

There's a lump in my throat after writing that, I think I might add a part II… else it would keep me up at night.


	10. Chapter 10

||Ten: Papa is actually very handsome

 _Note: I shall upload the second part of promise me, the previous chapter, sometime later. Until then, I hope you all enjoy this instead._

Papa is a very strict person.

I realized this when I saw him with my own two eyes and met him—physically. Although he was very similar to the clone that Mama had turned into one day. Papa looked older than the clone, maybe because she had a memory of him from ten years ago?

I think I shouldn't think too much about it, not that everything has been sorted out. Papa assured me that I was thinking wrong about the relationship between him and Mama. He just has to live away because of his very important mission.

My memory of Papa is very different from the clone that Mama showed me. Mama's version of Papa was very calm and gentle, Papa, on the other hand, didn't smile as much. In fact, he seemed to be a very strict man.

He told me that if I had any plans of becoming a ninja one day, I should learn to abandon personal feelings during missions.

How cruel, Tch.

He was always impassive, if not, then always angry. His glares were scary and even the Shins that we encountered that day seemed to flinch when he had walked towards them.

Papa's Sharingan was also very different than mine, it had more intricate patterns; his other eye, which was purple, was a Rinnegan, the most powerful ocular prowess, according to the book I've read.

Truth be told, Papa was a little bit intimidating, more than anyone I have ever met in my life. Nanadaime-sama seems so gentle compared to him.

Mama told me they're best friends.

I wonder how that ever worked out. Papa doesn't seem one to interact with people unless he finds it necessary, Nanadaime-sama on the other hand…

I still think Nanadaime is cooler though! He's so fun to be around!

N-No, I don't have a crush on the Hokage! I just want to be like him someday.

The summary of this diary entry is that Papa is a very strict man.

I wonder how he and Mama fell in love. Surely, Mama has a very bright personality, but Papa is so serious all the time. Does he ever laugh?

I found all of my answers one afternoon when I and Cho-Cho were heading back after our classes. When I got home, I saw another set of ninja sandals.

They belonged to Papa.

When I got inside, announcing my return, I found Papa sitting on the sofa set while Mama stood near him. She got startled when she saw me and flashed me a big smile, her cheeks were red and Papa merely sipped his tea.

Tch, she's too happy for his return.

I greeted him cheerfully and all he said was, "Ah." It seems like Papa doesn't like to talk a lot. I remembered the tap of his fingers on my forehead from the last time. It is the most affectionate memory that I hold with Papa. But it seems like he's not that affectionate all the time, perhaps that is the most affectionate that he can ever be. I saw him activate his Sharingan and go through the newspaper as Mama busied herself in making something for me.

He doesn't like to waste time on trivial things as well.

I saw him scoff when he set the newspaper aside, Mama looked up, "What is it, Anata?"

"Nothing." He said as he picked up the empty tea cup and stood up, I backed off, feeling intimidated for no reason, it's not like he was going to point his katana at me again.

But still…

He hadn't seemed to notice that though, he just reached the sink and placed the tea cup there, "The newspaper is filled with the dobe's face", He said.

Dobe?

"Naruto is quite popular in the village," Mama told him as she took out some snacks for me.

Papa calls Hokage-sama as "Dobe?" I find myself gaping at him, and merely look away. Does he not like the Hokage? I thought they were good friends?

"He's annoying," Papa says with a small curl of his lips as if he remembers some fond memory of him and the dobe—

I-I mean the H-Hokage!

"Anata," Mama says with her gentle chiding voice, "Be mature, he's the Hokage now. One whom our Sarada adores." Mama says with a wink and looks at me, I feel my cheeks heat up.

"I told you I don't like him!" I said with protest but she just smiled. Papa looked at me for a moment and I swear I felt my heart race. It was the moment when I realized that he wasn't wearing his usual black cape, but a simple lavender shirt in which he looked…

Like a normal man.

He turned his attention towards Mama though, "You're still as annoying as ever, Sakura." He told Mama and smiled.

He smiled!

I felt my face heat up as he tapped Mama's forehead with another smile, Mama seemed to have frozen in the spot! She turned as red like Papa's favourite tomatoes!

"A-Anat—" She stuttered as Papa got back to where he had been sitting.

I didn't realize this before. But when he smiled, it seemed so gentle and pure that my heart seemed to ache. It was as if his smile had a gravity to itself that held the people close to him together. I saw Mama, who tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear, still smiling.

My father didn't seem to be the same strict man I had met outside of the village. He seemed so young, so youthful, so gentle, so calm…

So handsome.

I ran out of the room making excuses. I couldn't bear to be standing in his aura for so long. I felt my heart race, not with fear, but with adoration.

I know I said that Hokage-Sama was the coolest, but I guess Papa is the handsomest!

 _Meanwhile, in another room, Sasuke looked up when Sarada ran to her room. Unfazed and unknowing, he asked Sakura, "What happened to her?" He said impassively._

 _"_ _It seems like she just got infatuated with you, Sasuke-Kun," Sakura said fondly as she sat down next to Sasuke._

 _"_ _I can't have two fan girls living with me," Sasuke said seriously, but he broke out into an arrogant smirk as he pulled Sakura into his chest and sighed as the smell of her hair invaded his senses._

 _"_ _I told you, I'm not your fangirl!" came a frustrated remark from Uchiha no Tsuma, Sasuke could only smirk again,_

 _"_ _Hn."_

 **~~ MISS KIREI UCHIHA ~~**


	11. Chapter 11

||Eleven: Sharing a bed together

Sasuke is still not used to this sort of an arrangement. Even after the one month that they started living together, Sasuke is still not used to sharing a bed with Sakura.

"Mmm…so warm." Sakura muttered as she put her arm over Sasuke's chest and buried her head into his arm. He stilled, just like every night, and waited for her to be in a deep state of sleep. Sakura liked to talk during her sleep, not fully coherent sentences, but just strings of mumbled words that would shake the ground under Sasuke's feet, that's all.

He was all in for sharing a bed with her, as a sign of affection and all that stuff, but it didn't mean that such things didn't bother on him on a personal level.

Like how Sakura would break down his defences the moment she would bury her face in his neck.

Or like she would mumble sweet nothings into his ears that'd keep him up all night— thinking.

Sasuke was a very touchy person when it came to sleep. The first time Sai had dared to interrupt his sleep, he almost had killed him then and there if they didn't cause so much ruckus and ruined his mood.

To put it simply, he didn't liked being disturbed when he slept and replenished his chakra.

But things took a different turn with Sakura. He just did not know what to do with her. If he said all this to her directly, she would just grow quiet and sleep on the floor and cry till her eyes were red and—

He didn't want that.

Sasuke dragged his palm down his face irritably as Sakura shifted again, she nuzzled his neck and Sasuke could only glare daggers at the ceiling as his Sharingan got activated. He was super aware of every breath, and every movement she made. Her hair were tickling against his neck as she started to mumble again.

"Sa'ske-kuunn…" She whined in her sleep, "So c…ute…"

"Tch, I'm not cute." Sasuke couldn't help but say as he glared at her while she slept peacefully. His eyes softened when he looked at her serene face and a fond smile covered his features, his Sharingan turned back to normal and he could merely sigh as he pulled her close into his chest and closed his eyes.

"Tch, annoying."

Sakura sighed as she leaned against him again, and slept peacefully as Sasuke tried to think of ugly things to calm down his fucking arousal.


	12. Chapter 12

||Twelve: Second Kiss

 _/Only dialogues/_

"I know this question is not of much importance to you, Sasuke-kun, but it was necessary for me to ask this to you, directly."

"I-I know that I may not be what you want but w-when yo-u suddenly k-kissed me that d-day I didn't know what to think, and you didn't seem to care about it later and then things were back to normal but I don't understand where—"

"Sakura."

"Where I stand in your life, so let me ask this question again, Sasuke-kun. I know I have always annoyed you by being so straightforward and even though I hate myself for it but I don't want another heartbreak. I don't think I would be able to mend myself back—"

"Sasuke-kun, what are you?! D-Don't throw me on the wall like that how r—"

…

"Why are you crying?"

"B-Because!"

"Sakura,"

"Because this is what you do— kissing me like that out of nowhere! What am I supposed to think after this? How am I supposed to react? I—"

"It doesn't matter whether you're the one I want or not."

"Sasuke-kun?"

"I can't imagine being with anyone else."

"Is this a genjutsu?"

"Let me prove that it's not."

"S-Shannnaro—I"


End file.
